News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-04-28


the end of yard, and he was speedily
followed by his companions. Each
struck the water with an awful splash,
went out of sight, and nothing further
was seen of them. If they were stunned
by the fall so much the better.
| 1t was about three o'clock in the after
noon when the blacks made ready to at
tack us. The brig had three boats
which they could get at, and each boat
was crowded with men. They had mus
kets, cutlasses, capstan bars, Delaying
| pins, and other weapons, and while they
were making preparations they kept up
a yelling and whooping which would
have done credit to Indians. Those
who were to remain aboard defed and
taunted us and evidently considered us
certain victims. 1 don't think any man
of US felt what people called fear as we
saw the three boats leave the brig and
pulltoward rs, hut we could be forgiven
for doubling whether we had the
kept together, and it was evident that
they meant to board on the same side.
This was the better for us. Our bricks
and other weapons were hastily moved,
and while we were at this work the Cap
the blacks and warned them to keep off.
In hopes some of them might under
stand English. he called out our nation
atty and said We were their friends and
would help them back to the coast.
The answer to this was shot from
musket, and the bullet whistled so close
to the Captain s head that he lost no
time in getting off the rail. We saw
/, - 1, .SL4 -, al
were as ready as we could be when they
laid us aboard. Fortunately for us they
had no strategy about them, but the
three boats pulled together for our bows
and hooked on in q crowd. The bark
had very high bulwarks, and the blacks,
who were armed with muskets, could do
us no damage. We had but one point
to defend, and a score of brickbats and
a couple of pals of hot water took the
sand out of the crowd pretty quick. In
three minutes after getting under our
bows they realized that they had cut out
a larger job than they could manage,
and they werea well scalded set as they
let go and pulled back to the brig.
Three-ffths of the crowd had been
left on board, and the failure of the at
tack was greeted with such yells as NOR
tai man never heard before. The boats
were not hauled up at all, and the beaten
blacks were no sooner got aboard the
brig than a terrific fight took place,
which did not stop until twenty-five or
thirty people had been knocked on the
head and flung over to the sharks. An
hour before sundown the boats were fill
ed with men again to attack us, but
there was great iabbering and gesticu-
lating, and the plan was abandoned.
Just at sundown the calm was broken,
though the breeze that reached us was
a light one. The Captain weighed all
the circumstances in his mind; no doubt
he came to the conclusion that it was
the best way for us to continue our
journey and hope to fall in with cruiser.
The blacks set up howls of vengeance as
we made sail, and that we could not
have made friends with them was proved
by the fire of muskets which they kept
up until we were out of hearing. The
brig was turning round and round on
her keel when we last saw her, and some
of the blacks were aloft trying to loosen
the sails. Thirty hours later we met
H. NJ. S. Defiance, and gave her Cap
tain the briggs bearings, but it was full
a year before L learned any further par
ticulars. After cruise of a week the
Defiance found the brig bottom up at
sea, seventy-five miles from where we
left her, with never a sign of a human
being about her.